Of course, we did tamper our expectations a bit, as the last Lean Cuisine fettuccini meal we tried wasn’t exactly a hit. But the Chicken Carbonara is a far more complex meal, and it’s all the better for it.

At first, it looked like this might be a little soupy, but we let it sit for a few minutes and the sauce thickened up a bit. It didn’t turn quite as thick as we’d hoped, but it’s not the mess it appears at first glance.

What impressed us right away is that Lean Cuisine seems to have taken the chicken very seriously. Lean Cuisine doesn’t always knock it out of the park with their chicken, but here it’s a pretty high-quality meat. And speaking of meat, we found a few bits of bacon in this dish — a pleasant surprise indeed.

Of course, our favorite part of this meal has to be the asparagus. It makes a world of difference here, since the sauce isn’t rich in flavor. But the asparagus does the heavy lifting, transforming this from bland to pretty darn tasty. Thinking back, we think the Fettuccini Alfredo would have been vastly improved with a little asparagus.

While we still prefer Lean Cuisine’s red sauces, the Chicken Carbonara is a real treat for those who prefer white sauces. And at 240 calories (50 from fat), this doesn’t come with the guilt that many other pastas contain.

To learn more about this frozen food’s nutrition or ingredients, check out our package scans below.